Basics of Judaism
- Basic Values and Morality
- Chosen People
- G-d and Torah
- Heaven and Hell
- Other Denominations
- Reward and Punishment
- Science and Torah
- Sin and Repentance
- The Messiah
- Who is a Jew?
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Those Who Have No Share in the World to Come
Which sinners have no share in the World to Come? The Mishnah in Sanhedrin lists three kings (Jeroboam, Ahab, and Menasheh) and four others (Bilaam, Doeg, Achitofel, and Gechazi) who have no share in the World to Come. The kings…
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Numbers
How are numbers written in Hebrew? There are no symbols for numbers (1,2,3…) in Hebrew; the letters of the alphabet have been used, since earliest times, to represent numbers. The first nine letters represent the numbers 1-9; the next nine…
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Amen
What does "Amen" mean? It's an expression of agreement or affirmation ("so be it"); see Num.5:22 and Deut. Ch.27. It's related to the word "emunah", which means "faith" or "belief".
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The Imperfection of the World
Why isn't the world perfect? G-d doesn't choose to make the world a perfect place; it contains much evil and suffering. One of the consequences of this is that we are able to improve ourselves (and the world) by doing…
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Abraham's Bosom
What is "Abraham's bosom"? "Abraham's bosom" is a metaphor for "heaven". The term is used by Josephus (Discourse concerning Hades), and can also be found in the Talmud (Kiddushin 72b).
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The Name Oren
What is the source of the name "Oren"? It's a Biblical name (Isaiah 44:14) which means "pine tree".
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Yiddish
What is Yiddish, and how is it related to Hebrew? Yiddish is a dialect of German that has been spoken by most (northern and Eastern) European Jews for about 1000 years; it uses occasional Hebrew words.
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Jewish Education
Where are we commanded to give our children a Jewish education? The two primary sources are in the first two paragraphs of the Shema, especially Deut.6:7 and 11:19.
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Adding to the Torah
How do we know that nothing will be added to the Torah? It's explicit in the Torah that WE can't add to or subtract from it (Deut.4:2, 13:1). The idea that G-d won't add to the Torah is deducible from…